Automatic grinding wheel dresser



Feb. 25, 1969 s. HALL AUTOMATIC GRINDING WHEEL DRESSER Sheet of 2 Filed Sept. 30, 1966 INVENTOR STEVE HA LL,

ATTORNEYS BY 3 mm W ZQ Feb. 25, 1969 s. HALL 3,429,305

AUTOMATIC GRINDING WHEEL DRESSER Filed Sept. 30, 1966 INVENTOR STEVE HALL BY m y 44% ATTORNEYS United States Patent Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for the automatic dressing of grinding wheels and the like which includes a dressing tool concurrently movable along a line and in a plane so as to dress a grinding wheel to a preselected contour.

Heretofore, it was sometimes necessary to stop the grinding operation, the grinding wheel having become clogged with oils, grit, etc., then redress the wheel prior to further use thereof. This resulting down time was lost time. And since it was necessary to maintain a particular contoured edge on the grinding wheel, the intermittent operation arose with greater frequency. For the cleaning, hand dressing by a skilled craftsman eventually gave way to machine dressing. But the result was only a lessening of the down time. Further, the devices which could be attached to a grinding machine were many times cumbersome to handle or at most limited in their ability to produce the intricate contours required.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a device which may be easily attached to the grinding machine for dressing the wheel concurrently with the grinding operation.

A further object of this invention is the provision of means for contouring the grinding wheel to exacting requirements.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a new and improved dressing device which is portable and adaptable for use in conjunction with grinding operations.

Another object of this invention is the provision for the unique arrangement of parts whereby the rotating screw shaft, upon which the dressing head is mounted, may be pivoted.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the automatic grinding wheel dresser made according to the instant invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the device shown in FIG- URE 1 with a portion cut away and in section.

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the traveler rod taken at the section line 4-4.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the base with the traveling mechanism removed to illustrate certain hidden details.

Briefly, in the practice of this invention, a rectangular base, with a motor mounted at one end, is provided for attachment to the chuck of a grinding machine. Intermediate the ends of the base and running transversely thereof is a worm gear drive shaft to be driven by said motor. Intermediate said shaft and perpendicular thereto is a meter screw having a helical gear secured to one end for engagement with the worm gear drive shaft. The helical gear is received in a longitudinal groove of a circular Patented Feb. 25, 1969 traveler rod. Mounted on and surrounding the traveler rod, so as to traverse the traveler rod, is a traveling carriage atop which is mounted a dresser chuck which holds the dresser bit. Thus, by rotating the helical gear, the traveling carriage is caused to move along the traveler rod whereby a grinding wheel in contact with the bit may be dressed.

The entire traveler and meter screw mechanism is rotatable on a transverse axis parallel to the drive shaft at the point where the drive shaft meshes with the helical gear, thereby permitting continued operation even though the entire traveler and meter screw mechanism may be moving up and down. By this unique arrangement and cooperation of parts, the traveler mechanism can be adopted to ride a longitudinally disposed template having the unusually shaped contour desired on the grinding wheel surface.

By this brief description, it should be apparent that the device of this invention is compact and light weight and may be readily mounted on the chuck or table adjacent to and below the grinding wheel for dressing simultaneously with the grinding operation.

Turning now to a more detailed description of the invention, FIGURES 1 and 2 show an essentially rectangular base 10 having vertical projections 11 for receiving drive shaft 12. At the outset, it should be understood that a motor, reversible if desired, may be mounted at one end of base 10 to turn shaft 12 at the extension 13 therefrom. It should further be understood that appropriate gears for reducing or reversing the drive may be provided to vary the speed of drive shaft 12.

The vertical projection 11 is provided with a bore 14 for receipt of a cylindrical collar or spacer 15 having a bore which in turn is adapted to receive drive shaft 12 for rotational movement therein. A further function of spacer 15 will be made apparent hereinafter.

As a means to transmit motion from drive shaft 12, a worm gear 16 is provided at a center location thereon. Operating from gear 16 is helical gear 17 mounted at one end of meter screw 18, said screw being disposed below and perpendicular to drive shaft 12. Meter screw 18 is threaded 19 nearly its entire length to permit longitudinal movement of the dresser bit housing. This will be described in more detail later.

The traveler rod 20 is essentially an elongated circular block with a rectangular recess 21 on the under side and running the full length of the member. This is best revealed by the perspective view illustrated in FIGURE 6. The recess 21 is such that it overrides meter screw 18 but not in contact therewith. To further insure against any relative movement therebetween the meter screw 18 but not in contact therewith. To further insure against any relative movment therebetween the meter screw 18 and recess 21, key 22 may be used to contact a reduced section 23 of meter screw 18.

The traveler rod 20 is further provided with a transverse recess 21a at one end thereof, above and communicating with recess 21. It is at the enlarged cavity portion, formed by the intersecting recesses 21 and 21a, that worm gear 16 and helical gear 17 mesh. The axis of the transverse recess 21a is the axis of rotation for the traveler rod 20. This rotation is accomplished b receiving at 24 within the last named recess the spacer 15; see FIGURE 4.

At the opposite end of the traveler rod 20, an arm 25 extending perpendicularly to said rod is mounted to facilitate movement of the free end of rod 20. For example, if a beveled edge is required on the grinding wheel, a gauge block may be set under the arm to give the desired angle to the dressing mechanism. A further element of the last mentioned end of said traveler rod is a rest 26. This rest maintains the parallelism between the dresser bit travel and the base 10.

Turning now to the dressing mechanism, indicated generally at 30 in FIGURE 5, it will be seen that it comprises a housing 31 having a bore 32 therethrough. The crosssection of bore 32 is slightly greater than the cross-section of traveler rod 20 such that with a minimum of friction and slipping, 'the housing 31 will readily slide over rod 20. This movement may be eased by the use of a lubricant. The longitudinal movement of housing 31 is caused by the action of meter screw 18. In FIGURE there is shown a key 33, which may be bronze to avoid galling by the steel screw 18, which is adapted to slide in the recess 21. The key 33 further contains a threaded bore 34 which engages threads 19 of meter screw 18. Thus, by rotating screw 18, key 33 is caused to move axially carrying with it housing 31. The latter two members may be joined together such as by set screew 35. Secured on the outside and opposite the key 33 is the dresser chuck 36 and dresser bit 37. Since quick replacement of these parts may be necessary, it is contemplated that set screws 38 and 39 be provided. A final element of the dressing mechanism 30 is the tracer 40 projecting rearwardly from housing 31. It has been found important in operations such as contemplated here that the dressing machine be capable of producing various contours on the grinding wheel. For example, FIGURE 7 illustrates by the use of template 41, a curved contour which may be transferred to a grinding wheel upon which the device operates. This was effected by allowing the tracer 40 to follow the path formed by the upper surface 42 of template 41. While a simple shape has been shown for the template 41, it should be understood that a variety of contours may be employed. With only a little effort, a new template may be secured to the support 43, which in turn is attached to base 10.

It should therefore be apparent that by this simple arrangement of parts, a variety of angles or shapes may be imparted to a grinding wheel edge, all with a minimum of etfort by the operator.

Having described the invention in its most preferred embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. It is therefore intended that no limitation be imposed herein except as set forth in the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An automatic grinding wheel dressing device comprising in combination, a base, a drive shaft mounted for rotational movement thereon, a gear integral with said shaft, a screw shaft meshing with said gear and rotatable about said drive shaft at a right angle thereto, an elongated traveler rod housing said screw shaft and mounted on said base for pivotal movement about said drive shaft, and grinding wheel dressing mechanism including a dressing tool slidably received on said traveler rod and threadably engaged with said screw shaft, whereby rotation of said drive shaft results in the movement of said grinding tool in a direction perpendicular thereto and said tool may be moved about said drive shaft.

2. The structure claimed in claim 1 including a template attached to said base, and a tracer projecting from said dressing mechanism and adapted to be engaged by said template during the movement of said dressing mechanism.

3. The structure claimed in claim 1 and further including a pair of spacers surrounding said drive shaft and secured within a slot in said traveler rod.

4. The structure claimed in claim 3 wherein said gear integral with said drive shaft is a worm gear intermediate said pair of spacers.

5. The structure claimed in claim 3 and further including a helical gear at one end of said screw shaft, whereby said helical gear meshes with said worm gear causing said screw shaft to be operative by activation of said drive shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 13,918 5/1915 Bauer 51-33 1,094,202 4/1914 Dunlop 51-49 1,112,104 9/1914 \Vhite -11 2,832,330 4/1958 Hughes l25 ll HAROLD D. WHITEHEAD, Primary Examiner. 

